CANADA STOCKS-Futures rise as oil steadies

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Sept 1 (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada’s main stock index on Thursday as oil prices steadied on hopes that producers were moving towards a common ground on a potential output freeze.

September futures on the S&P TSX index were up 0.24 percent at 7:15 a.m. ET.

Saudi Arabia’s minister of foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, said in Tokyo it would be reasonable for the kingdom to go along with other producers in changes to oil production.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are scheduled to meet informally in Algeria on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum on Sept. 26-28.

Royal Bank of Canada’s seasonally adjusted manufacturing PMI data is due at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Canada’s main stock index fell on Wednesday as lower oil and gold prices weighed on energy companies and miners, while financial and other interest rate-sensitive stocks slipped as investors considered the likely path of U.S. interest rates.

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Chinese and Canadian firms signed 56 deals worth more than C$1.2 billion ($914.8 million) at a ceremony, Canadian trade minister Chrystia Freeland said.

North American farmers will pressure regulators to protect their negotiating leverage with fertilizer suppliers if Potash Corp of Saskatchewan and Agrium Inc agree to merge, major farm groups said on Wednesday.

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc, a unit of Japan’s Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co Ltd, said on Wednesday it would buy Canada’s Cynapsus Therapeutics Inc for about $624 million.